Making a Zen Christmas present for a six-year-old

It’s not easy making Christmas presents for grandkids – competing with shiny, noisy things that go ‘ping’.

Then there’s trying to come up with cool ideas that maybe mean something – and are age appropriate.

This one may have fallen short on most of those criteria, but it all stemmed from a statement by the six-year-old recipient that her favourite place in the whole world was ‘the beach’.

So, I made her a ‘Zen garden’, using sand from the beach she most-often visits, plus stones from the same beach, and driftwood to make the rake – all housed in a square tray made from Nanna’s wooden blinds.

It wasn’t exactly a hit on Christmas morning, but I’m pleased to report it now occupies a prominent position in her home and isn’t ignored.

And some of the shiny things don’t ‘ping’ any more 🙂

 

Make-n-Do is the CONTACT Editor’s personal ‘playlist’ on the CONTACT YouTube Channel, where the philosophy is making do with the tools and materiel I have and making and doing as an escape from the computer (though, ironically, the video making then ties me to the computer for almost as many hours as I spent Make-n-Do in the shed 😉 )

 

Also on the CONTACT YouTube Channel…

• Military News – hundreds of military-news videos
• The Making of CONTACT – an editor’s-eye-view of story selection, page layouts and more
• Shots from the Editor’s Desk – infotainment loosely relevant to CONTACT publishing
• Mavic Pro – non-military missions with the CONTACT drone
• Make-n-Do – shots from the editor’s shed
• Personal vlogs – grandkids, holidays, personal time – like a YouTube vlogger

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